Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (3rd January)

Donkey Kong Bananza: Loving all the destructible terrain and Kong transformations. The environments have creative denizens, such as the gem-like Fractones, and it's nice to see Pauline's backstory. There's tons to do, and I'm only six layers down; it's quite a blast.

Greetings fellow video game enthusiasts. This weekend I hope to start the video game known as Astrobot. I’ve heard it’s quite the award-winning video gaming experience. Happy gaming time lovely purple.

Switch - Replaying Xenoblade Chronicles X
PC - Replaying Dangerous Dave in the Haunted Mansion

I am still on the same gaming trio, and loving it:

• Have A Nice Death
• Cyberpunk 2077
• Tetris Effect Connected

Happy gaming! ✌🏻🧡🎮

Happy New Year!
I will play a little more of STARTROPICS for Nes via NSO. Started it a few days ago for the first time and I love it! It is one of those that pushes the systems to the max and I find it a lot of fun. I know it got one sequel, but it feel this is a series that deserves a new entry or remake. Mike could have been a character in Smash easily!

This week I will be mostly playing

Mario Party Jamboree
Metroid Prime 4
Ripening Tingle’s Balloon Trip Of Love

Hello Kitty Island Adventure: logging in only for the visitor’s daily quests, because I ended up buying Pokemon Legends Z-A and I’m having a blast with it. It has the genuine Pokemon magic, I’m loving it! My only regret is not having bought it earlier.

I had the intention to continue Xenoblade Chronicles 3, but with such a long break and 100 hours in it was just too confusing and I barely remember what's going on unfortunately. So I picked up my third playthrough of Fire Emblem three houses instead, much easier to come back to. Alternating with Octopath Traveler 0, Patapon, AI: the somnium files, and Cast n Chill with my partner 🎣

I am hoping to finish Bananza this weekend. With a game this good, I don’t want it to end. But, I need to finish then I can go back to levels to smash and explore more. I got Grapple Dogs on sale and it is a cool little platformer. Hidden Cats Rio de Janerio is my guilty pleasure and I always play a few matches in Rocket League.

Happy gaming everyone!

Happy New Year!! 🥳

I finished Metroid Prime 4 and I’m curious to see where that franchise and story head towards. I’m really enjoying Absolum at the moment, I’ve recently purchased Cast N Chill and Skate Story because my Backlog could use the company. Just might give UFO 50 a try but not sure if I’m in a retro gaming mood.

On XSX I’ll likely give RE4 and Armored Core a shot and continue with Outer Worlds 2.

Wishing every one a joyful weekend and start to 2026! Hopefully it’s great year for Switch 2

I finally reached Act 3 in Divinity Original Sin 2. I’m still utterly blown away by the depth this game has to offer, not only from a gameplay perspective, but also its quests and companions.

But in terms of combat, I’ve usually always play as a barbarian or rogue assassin/archer, yet I’ve grown to be enamored with the sorcerer class. It’s been a blast — quite literally — and it’s incredibly OP if you can use the right talents, and have equipment that provides elemental buffs. This may just be my “go-to” class for future games, or even existing ones such as Baldur’s Gate 3.

And then there are the quests, main and side that continue for multiple chapters. I love how open-ended they can be, and really matter depending on your choices. I’m seeing ramifications for my actions in Act 1 as I venture into the final act. Oh, I’m also befriending members of the Black Ring and then betraying them in the utmost satisfying ways.

I’m really curious to see how much Larian continues to evolve with their new Divinity game. I personally believe Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of, if not the best game ever made on different levels, so to expand on their expertise is going to be very interesting.

I think now, I feel comfortable dipping my toes into another game to play in between sessions in Divinity; Cronos The New Dawn has been tempting me for months.

Probably just a lot of random short platformers I haven't played since this time last year like SMB3 and Yoshi's Island.

If I end up doing something more substantive it'll probably be Danganronpa V3, been wanting to do another run of it before 2x2 comes out. Though I've lately also been really wondering about replaying 13 Sentinels.

I'm playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons more to gear up for the Switch 2 edition. I'm also starting a playthrough of Super Mario Odyssey on Switch 2 for the first time. Now that it's Sneak Peek in Splatoon 3 for Frosty Fest, I've been back to playing that and I'll play Salmon Run that has all random weapons with the Triumvirate this weekend.

I'm cutting back on Kirby Air Riders due to my realization that I'm no good at making custom machines in that game. The controls are way too finnicky and the camera is always awkward, and using only up to 20 decals is way too restrictive. I admire other people's talent at making so many good ones in spite of that. On the bright side, this frees me up to do other things and play more games.

Switching between Metroid Prime 4, Yakuza 0 and Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition. Really enjoying all three. The NL guide has been useful for Metroid.

Flying 14h in around 5h from now on and I'll be playing Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge! I need some slice and dice action.

Well besides Age of Imprisonment still, I've been and will be playing Ring Fit Adventure.

Which may or may not be because of a recent article on here...

My weekend gaming, playing bg3 with a friend, arc raiders with 1 son, Mario party/fortite with other kids, and totk when I get time to play by myself. And since I’m on a mini vacation, I’m a bit surprise my steamdeck hasn’t blown up from the amount of bg3 and arc I’ve played this week

I'll be playing lots of Xenoblade Chronicles X this weekend, along with a few Hades runs in between that.

Hades in particular has been in the backlog for years, mostly because it didn't click with me at the time. Im not particularly good at the genre, but i'm trying to 'git gud' at it.

I've been playing Final Fantasy 15 on my PS4. The second half of the story has suddenly become on rails and it's really annoying I'm tempted to stop playing. Had to take a break with Splatoon 3.

Am also playing Ring Fit Adventure, I brought a new one as my ring doesn't work like it used to.

Happy gaming everyone 😀

@Zuljaras Lords of Shadow looks interesting. What are your thoughts on the game?

More Skyrim on the Switch Lite for me, completed it twice before so been following a few tangents, seeking out Dwemer ruins and cool waterfalls. Even with the graphically pared back settings it’s still a bleakly beautiful world to explore, with some occasional amusing bugs like levitating horses! Happy new year gaming all.

Plants vs. Zombies: Replanted (Switch) - I've made it to the pool area.

Angry Birds Classic (Windows Phone) - On the last few levels I need to three star now.

Angry Birds Space (Windows Phone) - After taking a break from this, I began again a couple of days ago.

@Ooyah 😝 You made my day! 🤣

destiny 2

• fallout 4*- watching the new season of the fallout show had made me go back and play some fallout.

Fantasian Neo Dimension - Currently talking to robots with hearts, in the junkyard.

Happy gaming, everyone!

Chibi Robo on NSO ! I'm loving it so far, 7 hours in, I see why it is a revered classic. The only thing I can say about this game (to convince more people to try it) is that despite decades and thousands of great games released since then, it's still a worthwile one to play, and an unique experience.

I finished Wario World on NSO this week too, I gave it a 7/10. I thought it was a solid plateformer, short (and that's not a bad thing) and quite inventive at the end, but I just don't the point of those annoying rhinos when you fall off a cliff.

Next game I will play after Chibi Robo, to get the most of my NSO subscription is Paper Mario (N64). Never tried it, I wonder how it will position itself amongst my two favorites in the series, TTYD and Origami King !

Maybe a little bit of Persona 3 : Reload, if I have time !

Just got the good ending in Chronoquartz. Fun little time loop game. I'm glad I took copious screenshots during my play through because some were needed later. Now to figure out Outer Wilds' spooky DLC.

After I completed Metroid Prime 4 (loved it, solid 9/10) I started Silksong just to see if I got what it takes to beat the game. Fortunately it's pretty amazing. Beat The Last Judge on new year's eve so I guess I'm doing okay.

Good evening everyone it's 955pm Saturday night here in Sydney Australia I been smashing my switch 2 so so good I go back to my Xbox series X and ps5 then after 20minutes I go back to my switch 2 its my one console now I got all my old switch accounts so I can play my all my old digital games again ❤️ I really impressed with Mario kart world love the open world so so good 💚 cups are pretty good the 🐄 my favourite character now sorry Yoshi and Bowser Metroid prime 4 Beyond pretty weird game getting the beams like u get a chip like that the heck Myles Kennedy is the goat of the prime series and I love the motorcycle is so so good I love driving in desert and everywhere I want that bike and Samus in DLC for Mario kart world please now I don't like the boss very overwhelming and no Metroids and space pirates in Metroid game why ninty please explain I got one more key to find and wave beam to find I give this 7/10 fc26💚 this game even in handheld it's pretty good playing Luigi mansion 3 not too bad very cartoon graphics I love the look of Luigi mansion on the GameCube 💜 real ghosts like characters on the GameCube on like Luigi mansion 3 ghosts Pokemon z-a love it it's so relaxing game after MP4 DK bozana smashing is so good a bit same same can't wait for the new games this year hope prime 2 echoes 3 corruption twilight princess my favourite Zelda game💚💚💚 hope Starfox adventures and assault I pre order from my ebgames PGA 25 007 residential evil 9 Mario tennis so happy gaming everyone from Sydney Australia welcome to the revolution 💜💜💜🎮🕹️🎮🕹️

I'm having a grand time wedging in the last bit of almost childish gameplay I have downtime for before the year starts. My main two are Tales of Xillia, in which my extreme suspicion of Muzét has been very throughly validated, and Absolum, which became the unexpected new family game in the household. My kids made me proud when they thought up their first gamebreaking build: rose daggers on finisher + Galadra's multi-hit finisher + stacked throw damage buffs. Once they get time magic they're in for a treat. It's always great when they realize for all the button mashing skill they may not have, games are just numbers and if you can be strategize for absurd numbers you can mercilessly mow everything down.

They say play in children helps develop important life skills, and I tend to agree 😁

Also have some Theatrhythm: Final Bar Line planned, if we can ever stop punching trolls and werewolves long enough to get to it.

Happy gaming everyone!

Sonic Origins on Switch 2 and loving it! I never finished Sonic 1 but have now thanks to this awesome collection. Highly recommended.

Was going to continue with a Prime 4 run, doing a speedy run through casual after discovering that the end boss in hard mode sucks. It just boring and tiresome, first phase is awful for reasons those of whom have played are likely well aware of and the final one just goes on and on and on, bullet sponge to the extreme, so I stopped as I simply wasn't having fun. Running through on casual, no scans and limited upgrades is super fun though and fast.
That said, I fancy another type of old school (or should I say skool) game and may stick on Croc for the Switch instead.

Finishing up Metroid Prime 4 after 20 hours aprox.
What an INCREDIBLE experience! I'm so glad I didn't listen to all the hate around it. My favorite Prime after the first one (which is normal, that one is among the 5 best games ever made, imo).

My brother and I have been suffering through Resident Evil 6, and I'm thinking today's the day we finally end that suffering

@JohnnyMind How you liking Zelda II?? It's a great game, with some quirks no doubt, but a great game none the less. If you are enjoying it you should try Battle of Olympus, it's like it and a lot of fun.
Here is two links for you if you want to learn more
SNESDrunk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHj3uisp-bQ
and James and Mikes Mondays https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhx3ulRjphU&t=328s (any excuse to watch the two)

I just started Pokémon Legends Z-A. Its my first Pokémon game since playing Y when it came out

I think I'm going to start Cyberpunk 2077 finally. I bought the game because it's all on the cart at a time when a lot of publishers were opting to use GKCs, but it's been sitting in my backlog, and this is the year of the backlog for me. Why not start off 2026 with a bang?

Think I’m about halfway through the main story in Hogwarts Legacy. Enjoying it although as with all of these open world type games it is starting to feel a little repetitive at times so I might pause it for a couple of weeks and play something else for a bit. We’ll see.

Continuing with FF Tactics while also making sure I briefly load up a multiplayer game each day to replenish my platinum points (Air Riders had so many NSO icons it drained my supply very fast).

Hello again, y'all! This weekend I'm playing:

Switch:
Animal Crossing New Horizons: just selling more crops to obtain bells to pay for house storage upgrades.
PS4:
Hyperdimension Neptunia Re;Birth1+: I'm already on Chapter 3 in the game, and the main character, Neptune, has been poisoned by a bad guy and is out of action right now, but a different goddess character named Vert has taken her place, and I'm searching a new dungeon called Marabuco Forest to defeat a specific monster with an antidote that will help cure Neptune. All of my party members are now in their late 20s in terms of level.

Does anyone else experience this? I’m on a five-day break from work, and I thought it would be a good opportunity to begin a new game and make a good deal of progress before getting back to work. But whenever I get to this spot, I can’t find the enthusiasm to start something new and wind up playing a little of this and a little of that and then regretting the time “lost” when the vacation is over.

It happened again this week. I had decided to take a break from Civ VI after a hard-fought, super-tense and mentally exhausting comeback win as Shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu leading Japan. (We won the space race after trailing by a good margin, thanks to my master spies gumming up the works in other civs’ space-port facilities.) But after a couple of days of indecision, I just went back to Civ. So I’m in a super-fun run as Trajan leading the Roman Empire. I’ve also been mixing in a lot of Balatro.

Happy New Year, and happy gaming, everyone!

As I finally bought a PS5, I've been playing a couple of 'current gen' games I'd wanted to try, Robocop: Rogue City and Star Wars Outlaws. Both quite good so far, but Elden Ring has also pulled me back in as the PS4 version at 60fps is so much more playable. Aside from those modern games, going to play some Road Rash on the Mega Drive.

After finishing Horizon Zero Dawn last week, I'm planning on starting up some new games on my PS5. Maybe Ratchet and Clank A Rift Apart or Ball x Pit.

On the Switch front, I am picking away at sampling UFO 50's games. While I do enjoy quite a few of them, they feel more like interesting ideas that I want to tinker with, rather than trying to beat anything. I may pick up a new game soon. I got this interesting looking game called Vividlope, which looks like a more trippy take on Q-Bert, with the visual style of a Dreamcast or PS1 game.

Hello there fellow gamers.
On this very first weekend of 2026 I´ll be playing the following:

• Finishing my second playtrough of Metroid Prime 4, Hard mode, all scans and items on my Switch 2;
• Continue playing Expedition 33 on my Series X;
• Completing Astro Bot and getting the Platinum on my PS5.
  Cheers everyone and happy gaming weekend to us all

I'm continuing playing a lot of really old games which I've been doing a lot since late october (Atari 50 and dlcs; Namco Museum; Arcade Archives games; Taito Milestones collection 1 and 2 etc.).

Going from a Switch Lite, with its small screen, to a Switch 2 has made these old games so much better for me, as I can now see what I'm doing much better (plus the Switch 2 screen has pretty good blacks imo).

Hello there, Nintendo Life friends!

Last week I finished Metroid Prime 4 on normal. And I finally finished Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, which was a lot of fun! So I'm picking up on some other backlog games. This is what I'll be playing this weekend:

• Metroid Dread: 87% items, all upgrades, almost at the final boss
• Pokémon Legends Z-A:
  Main Missions: 19/42
  Side Missions: 69/203
  Pokédex: 122 caught 173 seen
  Research Level: 28/50
• Tears of the Kingdom: 62% overall progression
• Pikmin 1: 17/30 Ship Parts

And if there's some time left over, I'll probably start Donkey Kong Bananza!

Happy gaming everyone!

Ball x Pit for me and I doubt any other game will get a look in. Loving it!

got a knockoff n64 switch controller for christmas so Im gonna beat kirby 64 for the first time since I was a kid. easily my fav kirby game

@JohnnyMind oh well, never mind.
SNESDrunks videos are great, short, to the point and informative.

This Weekend i'll be playing
Animal Crossing: New Horizons (NS)
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (NS)
Magician's Quest (NDS)
Tongari Boushi to Mahou no Machi (3DS) [Magician's Quest 4/Enchanted Folk 4 on 3DS]
The Karters 2 (PC)
Saints Row 2 (PC)
Lego Party (PC)

@Pillowpants is this your first time with Dread?? If so you are in for a treat with the boss

Love the way you can add monster hunter stories 3 even tho it’s not out yet.

My granny wasn’t feeling well last week, so we postponed our Christmas party for this weekend. After the party, I’ll be able to play.

I’ve been recently playing Dark Souls: Remastered. It’s fun exploring new areas and fighting (or in most cases running away from) enemies. I just got to the Undead Church yesterday. I would like to make more progress in Sea of Stars this weekend as well.

Aside from gaming, I made a Backloggd account at the start of this calendar year! When the sales finish up Monday, I really want to pause buying new games and play what I have. It’s a fun way to revisit my library and play games I never touched yet.

My post-holidays weekend will be full of chores — I have to make my front lawn a little less gaudy (farewell till next Xmas, inflatable light-up Snoopy, Grinch, and Rudolph!) - but I’ll continue grinding puzzles in Sega Picross and hopefully start and complete the volcano zone in Metroid Prime 4.

Is there really no way to fast travel back to your home base in Prime 4, or do you just have to ride and hoof it out??

Outside of Switch, I updated my Egret II Mini so I can try out the latest expansion pack of Technos and Data East Arcade games - I’ll see how they measure up to my Taito faves.
If I’m super ambitious, I may try to make a spot near the TV for my new Evercade VS console, too - that and a few arcade collection carts were a late Xmas prezzie to myself that I haven’t played yet.

Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! 🕹️🎉👾
Although, given the news this morning, I fear we are in for a very turbulent year. 😑

I plan on really focusing on Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Switch 2) so I can finish it before the movie comes out. Like I said last week in theory I should have more than enough time but with limited gaming time it takes me a lot longer than usual to finish games.

I'm also down to the final missions in Season 1 DLC for Snowrunner (Switch 2). I saved the medium and especially long log hauls for last and man I can already tell these are going to be a REAL PAIN. But I'm up for the challenge of course! If time permits maybe I'll give it go.

Tetris 99 and I decided to give Kirby Air Riders a second chance but have since deleted it again. Utter garbage

I'll be playing Burnout Paradise on Switch this weekend.

I started The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, I didn't care much about Oracle of Seasons but I'm hoping I'll like this one more, I've beaten 2 dungeons and so far it's alright

New year new games for me. Well soon I will dive deep into them. Just got Metroid prime 4 switch 2 edition, cronos, and trails in the sky remake switch 1 upgraded to switch 2 a week ago. Can’t wait to dive into them but I will finish the couple of games below.

Daemon x machina titanic scion - On chapter 24 now. Was just doing some side but now I am finished. I will finish the game hopefully today or tomorrow.

Otogirisou(snes) on gkd pixel 2 -
Went through most routes and got most of the endings. Wanted to be finished with it but it’s fine. I will finish this soon.

Happy gaming everyone and happy new year too!

@Zuljaras yeah, controls in RDR2 are way too contextual and changing. No, I did not mean to punch my horse, and now I’m wanted and wasting time for unintentionally doing that.

Phew. Thank Arceus the holidays are over for yours truly. Crazy time. Currently playing:

• Dragon Quest II HD-2D Remake (Switch) - I've jumped back into the Erdrick trilogy after finishing DQ I early last month. I'm pretty early in the game, having just picked up my first permanent party member. It's nice controlling more than one character again lol. 7 mini medals found so far.
• Super Mario 3D World (Switch) - I hardly played this until the last few days since I was a mix of busy and focusing on the Pokemon Scarlet DLC when I did find time to game. I'm near the end of World Castle/7 and am still going for all stars, stamps, and gold flag poles.
• Pokemon Go - Piplup's Community Day Classic is tomorrow. I'm not sure how much I'll be able to participate since I'm busy, but I hope to add a couple shiny penguins to my collection.

Happy gaming!

I finally finished Metroid 4, so I won’t be saying that for once! This weekend, I’ll be playing Hades 2, Kirby Air Riders, and some Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment.

I'm have to be social today and probably again tomorrow, so likely not much but I'll be dipping into Star-Crossed Myth: Department of Wishes and lately I've been playing Demons to Diamonds on Atari 50 (supposedly developed for younger players, but it presents enough challenge for me haha).

First off, wishing the Nintendo Life staff and this wonderful community the happiest of New Years. It’s exciting to think about all that 2026 has in store for Switch 2 owners—some of it already announced, and no doubt plenty of surprises still waiting in the wings. It really feels like a year full of rewards, discoveries, and great games ahead.

As for what I’m playing this weekend:

Sea of Stars — The presentation continues to wow, but what’s really grabbed me is how the story keeps deepening and complexifying in genuinely satisfying, occasionally mind-bending ways. I’ve fully fallen for it at this point.

Hello Kitty Island Adventure — This game is my home base in video game terms. I can sit and play it for hours, just puttering around the island’s biomes, perfectly happy. Lately I’ve been having a lot of focused fun preparing cabins to entice the many (many!) potential visitors.

In a bit of a surprise turn, I also returned to SONIC X SHADOW GENERATIONS on the side. My 3-year-old nephew was watching me play in handheld mode on New Year’s Day, and when Sonic started tearing through a 3D act at 60 frames per second, he let out an awestruck “Whoa!” That alone made the revisit worth it.

Have a great weekend, gamers!

Now that I've beaten basically everything I was in the middle of (E33, Borderlands 4, Baldur's Gate 3, etc.), I'm on the next set of games:
Metroid Prime 4 has been predictable but fun. Peak with friends has been a dramatic blast. And Riftbreaker has been everything I could have ever wanted it to be with the new (late August) co-op update.

I also started MotionRec this week. Absolutely lovely little brain-teaser that I recommend when it comes to consoles next year. Elechead, except you play with time instead of power.

Lots of stuff. Especially on switch 2. Cyberpunk, Neva, Luigi’s Mansion.

On Xbox, just GTA Vice City

I beat Mega Man 64 (N64) this week, and then after New Year's, I went through The Legend of the Mystical Ninja (SNES) with my 9-yr-old, Super Mario Bros. 3 (NES), Rockman & Forte (Super Famicom).

My 9-yr-old also beat Rockman (Switch - MM Legacy Collection) this week, and my 12-yr-old beat Mega Man 2 (NES), Super Mario Bros. (NES Classic) and is about to finish Mega Man 3 (NES).

We've been playing Super Bomberman R (Switch) and the tabletop Pac-Man game as a family.

For now, I'll continue Mario & Luigi: Brothership. I'm roaming Lottacoins Isle at the moment in the run up to the 2nd great lighthouse.

Pokémon Legend Z A. I got pretty addicted to it. Also a workout for Fitness Boxing 3

@DennyCrane Just beat Raven Beak, what a fight! I also got 100% items. Some of them are the antithesis of fun to get, but I am satisfied that I managed to finally finish this great game!

Took me a couple of tries before I was able to reach phase 2 of the fight, but the third seemed pretty easy in comparison. Also loved everything story wise. What a game!

Happy New Year! At the tail ends of Metroid Prime 4 & Mega Man 4. Enjoying both more than the discourse brought up during their releases. I also happened to start Super Bomberman to scratch my puzzle itch

It's the month of January... and that means my birthday is coming up! Hooray! 🎂 And of course it's the New Year as well. I will need to prep for my cake day pretty soon... as well as my vacay that's coming in three months! 🌴 Here's what I'll be playing this weekend...

Super Mario Galaxy - Playing it via Super Mario Galaxy 1 + 2. I want to finish the last dome before doing the last Bowser fight. On a side note, I do want to start Super Mario Galaxy 2 on my birthday as a way to celebrate. Since I'm a huge Mario fan and it's been a hot minute since I played it!

Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Still playing a little bit every day and once again, I'll be saving up my bells for the storage upgrades.

Penny's Big Breakaway - I got this game on sale recently and I've been enjoying it. As of this comment, I did the first two worlds, so I'll be making more progress this weekend. It plays a lot like a Sonic game, which is no surprise since it's made by the same team that made Sonic Mania.

UFO 50 - Another game I got on sale. I'll be dabbling into a handful of games in this collection.

Mario Kart World - Think I'll play some online Knockout Tour races.

You all have a lovely weekend, and happy gaming, everybody.

Ori and the blind forest, and probably some digital board games with the wife

I'm playing cast and chill, sometimes not though, just watching and letting the computer catch stuff so I can spend the money later. Also playing Rainy Day Racer, which is an amazing time trial racing game in the vein of Ridge Racer, but without music, but with one of the Echo and the Bunny men greeting you before and after races. Also the amazingly fun Orbo's Odyssey, a 3d crazy platforming awesome game with wonderful drum n bass. Also Monument Valley (runs 240fps in docked play, very nice!), Insane 2 (super fun older racing game that also run very nicely, kinda makes me think of Motorstorm but with a great frame rate), MX Bikes (so realistic I crash all the time, but I can see why it's so popular), World Racing 2 (incredibly fun and smooth running old racing game, re-released in like 2022), MX vs ATV Reflex (one of the best old motocross games, seems locked to 60 with no difference when changing video settings to 90fps or 240fps, although if I lower the deck's refresh rate it can start to have a slight effect, so weird!), GanaBlade (awesome stg), SuperSpec Rallycross (ultra cute top down racer that I love playing with Lossless Scaling to get perfect smoothness with minimal input lag, looks perfect), First Racer (yet another great racing game I'm enjoying often), and Rocket League (I played some at 144fps on my old laptop's terrible display, but otherwise always play at 300fps on my new cheap monitor, which looks awesome).
Take care everyone!

Late last night, I finished Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on Easy difficulty with 100% Items, Scans and Green Energy, mostly for the Gallery.
Next, I'll try Normal difficulty, without 100% Green Energy from here on.

Maybe also some Mega Man 8. I have until the release of Mega Man: Dual Override to beat Mega Man 8, 9, 10 and 11. I got Mega Man 11 on the last day of the insane sale (didn't make the same mistake as with Okami HD), but I'll play it until I beat 10.

Happy new year everyone! 🎉🥳
It might be a new year but it’s still the same old games for me. That means the long dark on PS4, Animal crossing new leaf on 3DS XL and dragon warrior monsters on Chromatic. I did manage to complete Gunbrella on switch lite in the week so may (or may not) start Pizza tower on switch lite that I downloaded in the sale.
Have a good one everybody.

PS. I thought Gunbrella was fantastic 👍

I just finished up Metaphor: ReFantazio last night at nearly 77 hours.

I was enjoying the game for maybe the first 30 hours but man, the pacing of this game was just not for me. Just like with modern persona games I think it was longer than it needed to be.

I can finally vote for Mario Kart World 😆 the game is fantastic by the way, even my son is loving it and he was never the biggest MK fan.

I’ve decided to go back to Civ 7 after almost a year having played it. I was disgusted by it when it first released having bought it Day 1 on Steam (haven’t touched it since my first game on it) and after the many updates they’ve provided since, I can say it’s on track to be a decent game. Civ 6 is still lightyears better though.

I'm back to work after Christmas on Monday, until then I'm going to try and get as far through Death Stranding 2: On the Beach as I can.

Finally picked up Clair Obscur Expedition 33 on my ps5, as it turns out it is quite good.

I’ve also been working through hades 2 on my switch 2

@Pillowpants Awesome. So glad you enjoyed it and congratulations.

@Sambuc I still play Burnout Paradise once in a while. I put many hours into it, fully upgraded my “license” which basically means I beat the game. But it is still fun to drop in, speed around the city as fast as I can.

Burnout Paradise, Need for Speed Hot Pursuit and Grid are, IMO, the best racing games on Switch. I continue to play each of them. I hope you enjoy the game!

almost done with my second playthrough on metroid prime 4 and nearly halfway done with cyberpunk2077 still got the dlc story to do after i finish the main one.

I have 3 new Switch games:

Super Mario Wonder: playing with my wife and daughter (3 years Old, but she finished Mario 3d World, Bowser's Fury and Mario Odyssey alone when she was 2)

Princess Peach Showtime: playing with my daughter in turns

New Mario Bros U Deluxe playing Alone

I know no one like New Mario Bros U Deluxe, but i like It more than Mario Wonder. More classic, more difficult jumps and Old gameplay. I like It more. Wonder is Nice too. Great multiplayer game. I've never played any "New Mario" before It.

I am also playing Mario Golf Super Rush. I really love this game so much!

@Burning_Spear I do. Some of my most memorable gaming experiences have been about losing myself in a game for my whole vacation. I remember back on the Wii U, binging Xenoblade Chronicles X over 2 weeks. I remember when I had this 3 week period between jobs, I binged on Everybody's Golf on the PS4. Last Christmas was Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and on my week off that just ended this holiday break, I binged Horizon Zero Dawn. Just pick something you're hyped about, where your time off seems like a reasonable amount of time to finish it (and if you cant finish it by the end, just know that the break helped you get a significant amount through the game). Those gaming vacations became important memories that I look back on fondly, so hopefully you can have something like that as well.

Yakuza 0 on Switch 2. It’s great and visually stunning despite being a 10 year old PS3 game at heart. I’ll definitely be picking up Kiwami if I see it through to the end especially considering it and Kiwami 2 are only £20-25 each. Not the biggest fan of Key Cards but for that price I’ll bite.

BZZZT and Wonder Boy Returns.

Playing Cross Worlds on Series X but I am getting annoyed that they copied the worst part of Mario Kart (The rubber banding. Transformed really didn’t have this issue).

I tried Never Give Up which is pretty much a Super Meat Boy clone but without a working dpad for whatever reason I don’t enjoy it. (I did use the Analog stick on Super Meatboy the first time I played it but only when the 360 controller was my only option I managed to finish the light world and do much better when I had a suitable controller with a none terrible dpad).

Back from the internet-lacking but festivities-abundant countryside New Year's Eve with my family and straight into a weekend that almost seamlessly links with the next one into a relative bana- er, bonanza of backlog time, so which playthroughs to invest it in? You'd think over 350 items added last year to Switch library alone would suffice for the answer... yet here I am, with the visibly emptier hobby fund coffers and the first hybrid splurge of 2026 to sort between the benches and the storage space (which also means deciding what already installed stuff to part with for now). A few titles like Pedestrian and Alice Gear may wait alongside Quake II for now, and The Hundred Line beckons but simultaneously scares with its 13-something gigabytes, but that still leaves the gluttony catalysts like Fantasy Life I (I'm tired of manually correcting the last letter's case😅), Unicorn Overlord, Labyrinth of Zangetsu, the first Quake, Astroneer, Chasm, Slay the Princess, Baba Is You and another dive into the hoard survival genre with the steampunk (edit: make it solarpunk) Luminaria... even My Time At Sandrock is tempting me to go Xenoblade/Atelier/RF/Persona/Tales on its series (if the witnesses of my previous Saturday comments know what I mean), so perhaps a very "gruesome" storage overhaul is in the cards anyway.🙀

Needless to say, none of that means I'll readily give up on glancing towards the already established playthroughs, especially when the timeframe actually encourages it once in a blue moon. Be it the aforelisted and simultaneously engaged series, relative recents from Remnant, Rogue Legacy 2 and Ghost Trick to Ball x Pit, Railgrade and Gnosia or the proverbial longplays from Forager, Borderlands 2 and BotW/Echoes to First Departure, Danganronpa and GTA Trilogy (and all of that with some Cyberpunk, Palia and Chibi-Robo on NS2), this is guaranteed to be one memorable week. Various handheld stuff like the first Fantasy Life, Neptunia, Xenosaga, FFXIII/XV and Death Stranding isn't off the table either (unlike the likewise newly procured Edge of Eternity and Elex which look like even bigger tricks to cram on Deck for the time being... but who knows), and I've even gone as far as to unshelve and plug in PS4 just in case - Lord knows how long it's been. Should the stars align, some of this mostly TV-chained library (NFS 2015 and Crew 2, Lies of P and Bloodborne, Sakura Wars and Star Ocean IaF - you name it) might just see some action, too.

Happy New Year, merry Christmas to everyone potentially celebrating in a few days like I do, and here's to many positive memories and times to decidedly outweigh their opposites.🍻

Christmas and the sales hit me good. Recieved MP4: BEYOND (S2) & SPLATOON 3 from family. Picked up ROGUE PoP, SHINOBI: AoV, PWRWSH SIM, and SILVER BULLET during the sale. Will probably also roll some SPLINTERED FATE S2 EDITION as I got the 4K trilogy as well for Christmas and am in a TMNT mood. Finally, to the cat rolling PANDORA'S TOWER on Wii.... I see you.

As @GavinLane says in the article the Batman Arkham Trilogy is tempting at around 20 €. I do own all the Arkham games on my Steam Deck already (bought Asylum a total of 4 time on different platforms, City 4 times, Origins Blackgate 5 times, Origins 3 times and Knight 3 times).

But still I'm very much tempted, although I think I'll wait until the 14th where the sale ends, because I have a bit too many old arcade games on my "plate" right now.

Microsoft Flight Simulator! Just got my commercial pilot license so I can start making money 🤑 once I realized you can control the yoke with gyro on PS5, everything opened up for me

Been playing a bit of No Man's Sky on Switch 2. It has some weird graphical glitches but it's a nice chill time collecting resources and getting upgrades. It has a lot of stuff to do but doesn't quite cohere into something very rewarding, at least to me.

I've also become addicted to Blue Prince. It's minimalist art is very pleasing on the eyes and ears and its mysteries are intriguing. The RNG element is pretty frustrating at times, though. Sometimes a day or two goes by and I make no progress, which is annoying.

And not a video game, but I am on the last episode of Plur1bus. I can't believe people say it's slow. I binged it over two days and can't wait to get another free trial of apple tv plus to watch season 2, and then cancel again.

Well, I just finished Metroid... And what an ending! I didn't expect it.

Very VERY good game. A worthy sequel to the Prime series, the best after the first one, imo. The visuals, audio and gameplay are 10/10, the game is so much fun! A great mix of battles, puzles and platforming. Sure, it's not perfect, but it's definitely worth it.

A solid 9/10 for me. Do not hesitate and go for it, guys!!

I beat cast n chill last night. Hopefully they release more content for it. Working on Star Wars Outlaws now

@Burning_Spear
My guy I just went through this! Had a bunch of time off and all the intent to dedicate a good amount of time to gaming but when the time came, the ambition just wasn’t there. It’s been a fairly busy holiday season but I definitely feel as though I didn’t properly take advantage of the time. You’re definitely not alone in that sense, sometimes taking a break from gaming is part of the vacation too! Btw..I have CIV 6, seems like a cool series I’ve never played it but I’m rooting for ya every playthrough! 😝

This week I have been playing:

• Borderlands 4 (PS5): Vile Lictor defeated (that was a cool boss); farmed The Battle Wagon 5 times, obtained the Finnity XXX-L (really cool "sniper rifle" although it functions more like a minigun).
• Silent Hill f (PS5): Completed the game again, 2nd ending obtained (Fox's Wedding).
• Elden Ring (PS4 version on PS5): Leonine Misbegotten defeated (1st try), Magma Wyrm defeated (4 tries, Moonveil obtained).
• Megaman Battle Network Legacy Collection Vol.1(Switch): MMBN: Iceman defeated. Data Library 97/176.

Happy New Year, weekend and gaming everyone!!!

@Rainz Yeah, I think it was a combination of a long year and having just finished a Civ run that was non-stop intensity and suspense for two weeks. I thought maybe it was finally time to take a breather from the game after more than 700 hours, but this latest run as the Roman Empire has been amazing.

Anyway, glad to have you in my corner! Hope you have a fun 2026!

I’m still working on Fire Emblem Engage, which has been a good time everyone I lose a unit it’s a tough blow but it’s kindve exciting finding my next fighter to step up and fill that role. This game is much easier than other games I’ve played in the series due to the time crystal but I try not to abuse it, and sometimes if I set myself up, I prefer just to take it and work thru it.

Beyond that some family feud and Mario kart with my family on switch has happened and Overwatch in the Xbox still gets my time for a couple rounds.

Playing Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, loving the game so far. Square Enix did a stellar job with these remakes

@Burning_Spear You're far from alone on this, brother. I've noticed it's happened to me more and more as I age (turning 42 this year ). My theory on this matter is it's possibly about committing the headspace. What I mean is as we get older our "anything goes" headspace gets less and less with due to real life. With that knowing we're about to break ground into something new (even if it's supposed to be fun) can weirdly feel intimidating some. So, when we get into that state, we naturally just want to chill out the easiest and comforting way possible. I have a short list of games when this happens like Everspace, Sifu, Company of Heroes Collection, etc. LOL it's probably why I keep going back to Snowrunner. I easily lose myself to that game spending hours delivering one damn load of whatever. I find it crazy when this happens because as you know I b!tch on here so much about lacking gaming time and at times when I actually do get lengthy time, I end up just playing one of my comfort games I mentioned.

You think I'm making any sense here or near the mark? It could just be a me thing and I'm just nuts.

Just got home from travelling today. Anyway, this weekend I'm playing:

Hades II
I'm making good progress, I've emerged victorious in the lowest depths 3 times now and have reached the final boss of the Summit (though I haven't quite beaten it yet).

Pokémon Scarlet
Very nearly finished with my replay of this game. All I have left to do is Mochi Mayhem.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond
I just got into the Ice Belt, and am looking forward to the rest of the game.

Super Mario Galaxy
Going to progress through the Bedroom.

Have a good weekend, all!

Im playing pipistrello. Having fun so far.

I just finished Arkham Asylum.
The very beginning credits now have a a dedication page for Conroy and Arleen

shout out Gonçalo Lopes, Tape To Tape was so much fun, and also love a bit of Shoresy

Happy New Year.
Metroid Prime 4 and Zelda Tears of the Kingdom.
I'm getting towards the end of Metroid Prime 4, after the last teleporter key.
While the release schedule is quiet I've finally got around to starting Tears of the Kingdom with the S2 upgrade. Not played it before, so hopefully it's as enjoyable as Breath of the Wild.
Enjoy your gaming.

Hey, @Ganner, happy 2026. I think you hit the nail square on the head with this. ...

"What I mean is as we get older our "anything goes" headspace gets less and less due to real life. With that knowing we're about to break ground into something new (even if it's supposed to be fun) can weirdly feel intimidating some."

So when I finally get those five days to chill at home and do nothing but play games, my brain puts the brakes on complication and routes me to whatever is easiest to slip into.

Really focusing on Hades 2, but also putting in some serious time in Prime 4, Kirby Air Riders, Bananza and Mario Kart World. Lots of fun to be had!

Playing Simpsons Road Rage for the GBA, finally beat Galactic Taz Ball so I can finish up Star Wars Battlefront: Elite Squadron, both on the DS.

And when I'm not enjoying my time gaming, I'm trying to get passed the curling event in Mario and Sonic Olympic Winter Games 2010 on the DS.